Categories: culture, translation
Date: 16 March 2009 19:22:28
Just over a week ago, I attended an event (actually two - more below) at the local Literature Festival. A colleague and I thought it would be interesting to hear a conversation between an Angolan author and his translator.
The author was award-winning José Eduardo Agualusa. He is the first African writer to win the Independent Foreign Literature Prize and is part of the renaissance of Lusophone literature on the stage of world writing (it says here). One of his translators is Daniel Hahn who is also an author in his own right as well as being an award-winning translator. I say "one of his translators" because Agualusa has been translated into I think 17 languages (or perhaps published in 17 foreign countries which may not necessarily be the same thing).
When asked why he wrote, Agualusa said because he wanted to find out the ending to his stories - which I thought was lovely - but also an enormous luxury that he has the time to write 100,000 words or so to work out the intricacies of a plot.
He also intimated that having his work translated had its pros and cons. One advantage of sorts was that it made him look more closely at how he was writing because his translator might ask him why he had chosen a particular word (he suggested he did not consciously choose the words, they chose themselves) but a disadvantage was that a translation might not convey his message as he wanted it conveyed. He cited the case of a translation into French, a language he speaks well, of one of his novels. He said that the way in which the final sentence was rendered ruined the whole premise of the novel.
This struck fear into my heart! Not that I am translating at such lofty levels - but the fact that under pressure of time one might be obliged to submit a version of a text which has not been given the time it deserves or requires. (Ooooh I can think of many a time this has happened...)
I asked Daniel Hahn how long it took him to translate a novel. I didn't get a definitive answer - but apparently his first quick "knee-jerk" draft of 90,000 takes about 3 weeks. He's in no fear of his job then. That's about 3 times faster than I currently work!
And now, there is a quick plug for the best bookshop in the world - well, certainly, this country this year as it won the award for "Best Independent Bookshop 2008" last autumn. The wonderful Mr B's - which has been mentioned in these despatches before.
I was lurking around their bookstand looking at Agualusa's books (which I confess I have not yet read) and spotted a volume by Alan Johnston, the British journalist taken hostage for 114 days in Gaza last year. I happened to say something along the lines of "darn it, I meant to go to his talk and forgot to book a ticket..I wonder if there are any left?" [whilst thinking: fat chance as the lecture is only an hour away and the festival is heaving with people]. The fabulous Mr B said "Oh, I've got a couple of complimentary tickets to that talk. Would you like one?" Is the Pope a Catholic??
Gentle readers, not only did I get to go to Alan Johnston's talk at incredibly short notice, I was sitting on the very front row! And he in a sense is also a translator - for although he did not admit to speaking any languages other than his own (he confessed his Arabic was a bit basic which made his time in captivity all the lonelier as he could not speak with his guards) - he interprets/ed the activities of politicians in far-off lands for those of us who do not understand the language or culture and presents it in reports to help us comprehend what is going on.
His talk - interview style interspersed with questions from the floor - was interesting, peppered with humour about a grim and stressful time, and grateful thanks for those who had supported him and his family to gain his release.
All in all, a very interesting afternoon.